The Constant Couple
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The Constant Couple
''The Constant Couple'' is a 1699 play by the Irish writer George Farquhar. It is part of the Restoration comedy tradition, and is often described as a sentimental comedy. It marked the first major success of Farquhar's career. A series of comic misunderstandings are triggered when three rivals vie for the hand of the wealthy heiress Lady Lurewell. It was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in London. The original cast included Robert Wilks as Sir Harry Wildair, George Powell as Standard, John Mills as Vizard, Benjamin Johnson as Smugler, William Pinkethman as Clincher Senior, William Bullock as Clincher Junior, Henry Norris as Dicky, Joseph Haines as Tom Errand, Susanna Verbruggen as Lurewell, Jane Rogers as Angelica, Mary Powell as Lady Darling and Henrietta Moore as Parly. The hero and most popular character, the rakish Sir Harry Wildair was revived for a sequel ''Sir Harry Wildair'' in 1701. For several decades the part of Sir Harry was strongly identified with the actor ...
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George Farquhar
George Farquhar (1677The explanation for the dual birth year appears in Louis A. Strauss, ed., A Discourse Upon Comedy, The Recruiting Officer, and The Beaux’ Stratagem by George Farquhar' (Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1914), p. v. Strauss notes that "Our sole source of information as to the time of his birth is the entry of his matriculation in the register of Trinity College" on 17 July 1694, where "His age is given as 17." Earlier biographers took this to mean Farquhar was in his 17th year—hence born in 1678—and Strauss favors this date. But later writers, such as William Myers, ed., George Farquhar: The Recruiting Officer and Other Plays'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), p. vii, give the dual year, and John Ross, ed., ''George Farquhar: The Recruiting Officer (New Mermaids),'' 2nd ed., (London: A&C Black, 1991), p. xiii, gives a birthdate of "''ca.'' 1677" for the playwright. – 29 April 1707) was an Irish dramatist. He is noted for his contributions to late R ...
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Jane Rogers (17th-century Actress)
Jane Rogers (died 1718) was an English stage actress. To distinguish her from her daughter she is sometimes referred to as Jane Rogers the Elder. She first appeared at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1692 in Thomas Shadwell's '' The Volunteers''. Following the split of the United Company in 1695, she remained at Drury Lane with Christopher Rich's company rather than join the breakaways under Thomas Betterton. She benefited from the departed of Anne Bracegirdle with whom she had been competing for roles and became one of the leading members of the company. Sometimes in the 1690s she gave birth to Jane Rogers reportedly following a liaison with fellow actor Robert Wilks. Her daughter later became an actress as part of the Lincoln's Inn Fields company, where she married Christopher Bullock and was consequently known by his surname. The elder Rogers continued at Drury Lane until 1706, when she switched to the new Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket. She then returned to Drury Lane where ...
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Plays By George Farquhar
Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Play Mobile, a Polish internet provider * Xperia Play, an Android phone * Rakuten.co.uk (formerly Play.com), an online retailer * Backlash (engineering), or ''play'', non-reversible part of movement * Petroleum play, oil fields with same geological circumstances * Play symbol, in media control devices Film * ''Play'' (2005 film), Chilean film directed by Alicia Scherson * ''Play'', a 2009 short film directed by David Kaplan * ''Play'' (2011 film), a Swedish film directed by Ruben Östlund * ''Rush'' (2012 film), an Indian film earlier titled ''Play'' and also known as ''Raftaar 24 x 7'' * ''The Play'' (film), a 2013 Bengali film Literature and publications * ''Play'' (play), written by Samuel Beckett * ''Play'' (''The New York Times'' ...
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1699 Plays
Events January–March * January 5 – A 1699 Java earthquake, violent Java earthquake damages the city of Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 28 people * January 20 – The Parliament of England (under Tories (British political party), Tory dominance) limits the size of the country's standing army to 7,000 'native born' men; hence, William III of England, King William III's Dutch Blue Guards cannot serve in the line. By an Act of February 1, it also requires disbandment of foreign troops in Ireland. * January 26 – The Republic of Venice, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Holy Roman Empire sign the Treaty of Karlowitz with the Ottoman Empire, marking an end to the major phase of the Ottoman–Habsburg wars. The treaty marks a major geopolitical shift, as the Ottoman Empire subsequently abandons its expansionism and adopts a defensive posture while the Habsburg monarchy expands its influence. * February 3 – The first ...
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Hannah Pritchard
Hannah Pritchard (née Vaughan, 1711–1768) was an English actress who regularly played opposite David Garrick. She performed many significant Shakespearean roles and created on stage many important female roles by contemporary playwrights. Life She was born in 1711, and married in early life a poor actor named Pritchard. As Mrs. Pritchard she acted in 1733, at Fielding and Hippisley's booth, ''Bartholomew Fair'', the part of Loveit in an opera called ''A Cure for Covetousness, or the Cheats of Scapin''. She sang with great effect "Sweet, if you love me, smiling, turn". A duet between her and an actor called Salway was very popular, and she was berhymed by a writer in the ''Daily Post'', who spoke of this as her first essay, and predicted for her "a transportation to a brighter stage". This was soon accomplished, since she appeared at the Haymarket Theatre on 26 Sept. 1733 as Nell in ''The Devil to Pay'' of Coffey. She was one of the company known as the "Comedians of his Majest ...
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Anne Oldfield
Anne Oldfield (168323 October 1730) was an English actress and one of the highest paid actresses of her time. Early life and discovery She was born in London in 1683. Her father was a soldier, James Oldfield. Her mother was either Anne or Elizabeth Blanchard. Her grandfather owned a tavern and left her father several properties, he however mortgaged these which resulted in Anne and her mother being placed in financial difficulty when he died young. It appears that Oldfield received some education because her biographers state that she read widely in her youth. Oldfield and her mother went to live with her aunt, Mrs Voss, in the Mitre tavern, St James. In 1699, she attracted George Farquhar's attention when he overheard her reciting lines from Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher's play ''The Scornful Lady'' (1616) in a back room of her tavern. Soon after, she was hired by Christopher Rich to join the cast of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Career A year later she was cast in he ...
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Samuel Foote
Samuel Foote (January 1720 – 21 October 1777) was a British dramatist, actor and theatre manager. He was known for his comedic acting and writing, and for turning the loss of a leg in a riding accident in 1766 to comedic opportunity. Early life Born into a well-to-do family,Hartnoll, p. 290. Foote was baptized in Truro, Cornwall on 27 January 1720.Britannica. His father, Samuel Foote, held several public positions, including mayor of Truro, Member of Parliament representing Tiverton and a commissioner in the Prize Office. His mother, née Eleanor Goodere, was the daughter of Sir Edward Goodere Baronet of Hereford.Murphy, p. 1104. Foote may have inherited his wit and sharp humour from her and her family which was described as "eccentric. ..whose peculiarities ranged from the harmless to the malevolent."Howard, p. 131. About the time Foote came of age, he inherited his first fortune when one of his uncles, Sir John Dineley Goodere, 2nd Baronet was murdered by another uncle, C ...
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Dorothea Jordan
Dorothea Jordan, née Bland (21 November 17615 July 1816), was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time mistress (lover), mistress of Duke of Clarence, Prince William, Duke of Clarence, later William IV, and the mother of ten illegitimate children by him, all of whom took the surname FitzClarence. She was known professionally as Dorothea Francis and Dorothea Jordan, was informally Dora Jordan, and was also commonly referred to as Mrs Jordan and Mrs FitzClarence. Early life Dorothea Bland was born near Waterford City in Ireland on 22 November 1761, and was baptised at St Martin in the Fields, Middlesex, on 5 December of that year.Anthony J. Camp: ''Ancestry of Mrs Jordan''
[retrieved 4 December 2014].
She was the third of six children born to Francis Bland (1736 – 2 January 1778, in Dove ...
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Breeches Role
A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role, or Hosenrolle) is one in which an actress appears in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were the standard male garment at the time these roles were introduced. The theatrical term ''travesti'' covers both this sort of cross-dressing and also that of male actors dressing as female characters. Both are part of the long history of cross-dressing in music and opera and later in film and television. In opera, a breeches role refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer. Most often the character is an adolescent or a very young man, sung by a mezzo-soprano or contralto. Budden J., "Breeches part" in: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. The operatic concept assumes that the character is male, and the audience accepts him as such, even knowing that the actor is not. Cross-dressing female characters (e.g., Leonore in ''Fidelio'' or Gilda in Act III ...
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Peg Woffington
Margaret Woffington (18 October 1720 – 28 March 1760), known professionally as Peg Woffington, was an Irish actress and socialite of the Georgian era. Peg and Peggy were a common pet name for those called Margaret until the late 20th century. Early life Woffington was born of humble origins in Dublin, Ireland. Her father is thought to have been a bricklayer, and after his death, the family became impoverished. Her mother was obliged to take in washing while Peg sold watercress door to door. Madame Violante, a famous tightrope walker took her on as her apprentice.Richards, Sandra. ''The Rise of the English Actress''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. Her sister Mary was also an actress but she did not enjoy the same success. Acting career Around 1730, Madame Violante featured the young Woffington in her Lilliputian Theatre Company's production of John Gay’s '' The Beggar’s Opera''. Her performance as Mackheath served as a springboard for continued fame in Dublin. ...
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Sir Harry Wildair
''Sir Harry Wildair'' is a 1701 comic play by the Irish writer George Farquhar. It is a sequel to the 1699 hit ''The Constant Couple'', portraying the further adventures of the most popular character from the earlier play. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert Wilks as Sir Harry Wildair, John Mills as Colonel Standard, Benjamin Johnson as Captain Fireball, Colley Cibber as Marquis, William Pinkethman as Clincher, Henry Norris as Dicky, Henry Fairbank as Shark, Thomas Simpson as Lord Bellamy, Susanna Verbruggen as Lady Lurewell, Jane Rogers as Angelica and Jane Lucas as Parly. Farquhar, an Irish Protestant from Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ..., dedicated the play to William of Orange.Morash p.37 References Bibliography * Bevis, Richard W. ''Engl ...
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Rake (stock Character)
In a historical context, a rake (short for rakehell, analogous to "hellraiser") was a man who was habituated to immoral conduct, particularly womanizing. Often, a rake was also prodigal, wasting his (usually inherited) fortune on gambling, wine, women, and song, and incurring lavish debts in the process. Cad is a closely related term. Comparable terms are "libertine" and "debauchee". The Restoration rake was a carefree, witty, sexually irresistible aristocrat whose heyday was during the English Restoration period (1660–1688) at the court of King Charles II. They were typified by the "Merry Gang" of courtiers, who included as prominent members the John Wilmot; George Villiers; and Charles Sackville, who combined riotous living with intellectual pursuits and patronage of the arts. At this time the rake featured as a stock character in Restoration comedy. After the reign of Charles II, and especially after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the cultural perception of the ra ...
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